Bomb Squad to compete in China Robotics Challenge in August

Fifteen-year-old Nick Huett cleans scratches off "Bandit," a robot that will compete in this year's China Robotics Challenge in August. "Bandit" was shipped to China before the competition.(Photo: Billy Jean Louis/The Baxter Bulletin)Buy Photo

"Bandit" is a bad boy that shoots boulders high up to an opponent's tower. It took the Bomb Squad — members of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 16 — six weeks to bring it to life.

The robot will compete in this year's China Robotics Challenge. Eight students and two mentors from Mountain Home are set to travel to Shanghai, China to compete from Aug. 12 to 14.

"A lot of things have to come together to make a successful robot," John Novak, a mentor for the Bomb Squad, said.

Team members went through at least seven steps before "Bandit" could fully function. The engineers were given a game, which they had to figure out how to win. They prototyped the pieces of the robot. And then they designed the parts.

Once the design was done, the team fabricated and assembled all the parts. After that, it was time to debug the robot because it "never" works the first time, Novak said.

In the last step, the team practiced on "Bandit."

"We have to have more kids becoming inventors and creators to keep the country free," Novak said.

Before the competition in China, the team will work with students for two weeks in the China Urban Youth Robotics Alliance, "to help the Chinese teams build FRC robots to compete in the games," according to a release. The Chinese organization is paying for a portion of the trip. In the meantime, the Bomb Squad is raising money to afford the rest. Email Arkansas FIRST Inc., president Meredith Novak at mnovak@usfirst.org for more information.

Team member Nick Huett, 15, said he's excited about the competition because he's never been on a plane. He joked he lives in "boring Arkansas," and would like to experience a different culture.

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John Novak, a mentor for the Bomb Squad, puts a bumper on "Bandit," a robot that will compete in the China Robotics Challenge. Eight students and two mentors will travel to Shanghai, China.(Photo: Billy Jean Louis/The Baxter Bulletin)

Huett said he joined the team because it "seemed cool." He isn't sure what he aspires to be, but knows he likes mechanical things. He wanted "Bandit" to look handsome. Before it was picked up Wednesday to be shipped to China, he cleaned the scratches off and put on the cover. Brady Villiger put the bumper on. "Bandit" will be shipped back to the country no later than September.

Kassie Huett, Nick's mom, said she's "very supportive" of him.

"It's a great learning experience," she said. She added the children benefit from the Squad by learning team building skills and computer systems, which they might not be able to do in a classroom setting.

John Novak said the purpose of the program is to try to get students' to learn what it's like to build something. Math and business are among the skills they acquire with the Squad.

"The idea isn't to play games but to learn," Novak said.

During the competition, the teams will play Stronghold. To play, three robots are put in an alliance. They go through the autonomous mode during the first 15 seconds, which is where the robots drive themselves.

The goal is to shoot boulders into the opponent's tower. The players do that during most of the match. At the end, the robot has to be on the tower, Novak said. But to receive more points, the robot has to hang on the tower. Shooting at the upper level of the tower earns the teams more points than shooting at the lower level.

"I want kids to advance their creativity," Novak said.

Not everyone on the team helped built the robot. Some worked on the business aspect, such as creating a site, advertising and programming. To join, Novak recommends people to visit the team first to see if they like it. They will be asked to write an essay on why they want to join to see if they're a good fit. The staff doesn't require prospective members to know anything.